I have been out of touch for some time now... January was not much of a month for photos or anything else for that matter. I was sick most of the month with one thing or another. It all started with a cold around Christmas and then that tuned into bronchitis and then the antibiotics I was taking for the bronchitis really did a number on my digestive system and I ended up with... dar I say it... a not so new weight loss program involving staying very close to a bathroom and not feeling like doing anything for about two and a half weeks!!! Finely, I knew I had to do something because I was leaving for Burma at the end of the month and I was determined to not take my physical ills to another country, not to mention that being away from a toilet for more than 20 min at a time just wasn't an option, so I left Saigon and went to the mountains of DaLat for the fresh air and the simpler life of a small town. The fresh air finely cleared my lungs (Saigon has some of the worst air I've ever experienced) The slow pace and friendly atmosphere revived my spirit and Colodium resolved the digestive issue. I should have gotten out of Saigon earlier, but the whole digestive thing kind of snuck up on me and I was stuck in a "I'll feel better in a few days... it won't get worse...I'll be fine... mind set that sort of wasted a lot of time. One up side to all this is I did finely figure out how to negotiate that squat toilet/bucket of water/sprayer getup that is so popular with Asia.
In better health though admittedly still a little weak Nick (from the magazine) and I boarded a plane for Bangkok. Once in town we checked into our hotel and made our way to the tour agency that would be processing our visa's for Burma. We would have done this in Saigon but the embassy was closed for Tet (Chinese New Year). This meant an extra day in Bangkok waiting for the visa's to be approved which turned out to be a good thing because as much as I hate to say it,(and it was worse to experience), I got sick from the fish that I had for dinner that night so yes, that's right I spent the next 14 hours in my room complete with cold sweats and all the rest that goes with bad fish. At this point I thinking, I need to take better care of my self, not that I could have known about the fish. The next day I was feeling better, we pick up our visa's and I went to bed early in preparation for the next days travel in to Burma.
Mentally prepared for a major hassle we landed in Yangon and made our way to passport control (There have been many warnings about the difficulty of entering Burma). I step to the line, wait for the nod and approach the official, and without a word he stamped my passport and waved me through. Easiest entry ever!!! I mean I really had to stop and think to myself... that's it? I looked around while waiting for my bag at the baggage pickup carousel to see if there was going to be something else, but as long as I didn't have anything to declare, and I didn't, then that was that.
Next we got our taxi voucher from the taxi stand and went out to get our ride to the hotel.
Now...the street system in Burma is the same as in the US... drive on the right, but the vehicles, however, mostly have the steering wheel on the right rather than on the left. I'd say about 85-90% of the vehicles are like this. It is a curious thing... and one of the first things I noticed about our taxi. The second thing was the general condition of the vehicle...
Taxi's in Burma:
Apparently in order to be a taxi in Burma you have to start with a well used beat up 80's vehicle, then, completely rip the snot out of the interior, break the seats, partially disconect the exhaust system, make sure there is a gas leak somewhere, and don't clean anything for at least 6 months exept for maybe puting some fresh news print on the floor boards. And make sure you've got plenty of twine, bailing wire and duct tape. Do this and you've got the stereotypical "big city" ride.
One of the first things I noticed upon leaving the airport was there are almost no motor bikes. There are a fair number of cars and trucks but I only noticed one motor bike on the half hour ride to the hotel and that was a motorcycle cop. As we learned from the driver, there was an accident involving a relative of one of the commanding generals, so motor bikes in Yangon have been banned. Another report says that it is an effort to control how quickly people are able to move from one place to another. Either way if you come here, plan to take you time. Being in a hurry just isn't part of the Burmese DNA.
Nick was very exited, he kept saying that Yangon was just like Saigon 20 years ago and he eagerly shot photos and sampled the food offerings. I on the other hand was not so enthusiastic.
That was last week, and looking back I think there are several reasons that I wasn't so exited. One thing is that I was still not over the previous months physical ordeal which was subtly coloring everything that I experienced. Another thing was that I didn't have the experience of being in SE Asia 20 years ago so there was no comparison, and the last thing is that I couldn't help but feel the oppression that colored everything about the people that we met. Everyone was cautiously polite but not terribly happy. You could see it in there eyes and read it in there body language. It was as though someone was watching them and they knew it. That is not to say that they aren't nice. Fact is, they are very nice. Left to there natural character the Burmese people are a happy helpful and generous people, but in Yangon there was a wariness that seemed to invaded everything.
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| Nick tries out Beetle nut |
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